One Precious Person
by Frog-kun
Summary: What if Akane met Ryoga before Ranma? And what if Ryoga hadn't yet become P-chan? AkaRyo. Chapter 11 up! The final chapter! Does Ryoga earn the right to become the next heir of the Tendo Dojo? Will Soun give his approval to Ryoga and Akane?
1. Which way to China?

Chapter No. 1  
**"Which way to China?"  
**

A normal day in Nerima ended early in the morning, when Ryoga Hibiki stumbled into town.

Ryoga was a nomadic martial artist serving under no master, which was a roundabout way of saying that he was lost. The first person that he caught sight of was a girl in shorts jogging down the vacant lanes. Though her body was feminine in shape, it was rather toned and there were distinct muscles on her arms and legs. Also, she had blue hair. Ryoga had never, in all his sixteen years, seen anything like the spectacle before him.

The girl apparently noticed Ryoga gawking at her for she stopped and said, "You look lost."

An accurate summation.

Ryoga began to stutter. "W-Would you…"

She wondered what he was going to say.

Of course, she had had quite enough experience with boys to know most of them were hopeless perverts. Possible requests from the boy in front of her (Not that she would accept) could be "Date with me," or "Kiss me," or maybe even "Sleep with me."

But Ryoga didn't look the type. There were some people in the world who looked as if they didn't know what a G-String was or what lingerie was used for or where babies came from and Ryoga was one of them. He had missed out on a lot of the rites which boys normally went through in puberty, mostly because he didn't know where to go. Goodness knows what his parents must have put up with. At any rate, it probably wasn't all too surprising that Ryoga ended up asking the girl where China was.

"China?" she repeated, a bit surprised. "Are you running away from home or something?"

Ryoga meekly replied that it was none of her business.

The girl said nothing for a second or two, and just as Ryoga was about to excuse himself and walk off, she burst out:

"Would you like to have breakfast at my house?"

"Why?" Ryoga asked. Then his stomach growled.

"What's why," the girl smiled. "My name's Akane Tendo, by the way." She extended her hand to shake his, Western style. "Pleased to meet you," she said in English.

Ryoga took her dainty (compared to his) hand. And as he looked into Akane's beaming face, his heart gave forth a loud thump that shook his very soul.

* * *

The Tendo dining room was unaccustomed to accommodating adolescent boys and Ryoga could sense it the moment he sat down to eat. Mr Soun Tendo had three daughters and none of them were in the habit of bringing boyfriends home. Eldest daughter Kasumi was too busy acting as surrogate mother and had no time for men. Second daughter Nabiki would never have dreamt taking her a boyfriend home when he could take her out to an extravagant restaurant free of charge. And Akane was just, well… no.

You might very well wonder why Akane invited Ryoga in. The truth is, Ryoga had been so bedraggled and exhausted from countless days of wandering the country that Akane had been moved to help him. She had never seen anyone as pathetic as Ryoga in her life. She didn't look down on him, only felt charitable to him as she would have been to one of her girl friends in need. Kind at heart, Akane felt pleasure when she noticed Ryoga smiling shyly at her in gratitude, and this was quite a new thing for her as she often didn't take notice of boys at all.

Soun pretended to ignore Ryoga's presence but he pricked his ears when Kasumi said, "Who's your new friend, Akane?"

Akane replied that Ryoga was lost and that he needed to get to China as quickly as possible and oh, daddy, can I keep him? The last part Akane didn't actually say but Soun, being a good father, naturally assumed that she implied it.

Nabiki, ever the practical-minded one, asked Ryoga if he had any money.

"Um," he smiled nervously. He didn't want to mention that he was as good with money as he was with a compass, which was not too good at all.

Before Ryoga could adequately answer, Akane glanced at the clock on the wall and figuratively jumped out of her skin. "Oh, I'm going to be late for school! I'm going!"

"Wait!" Ryoga shouted. "You didn't tell me the way…" Akane's footsteps receded into the distance, "…to China," Ryoga finished glumly.

"It's all right," said Nabiki genially. "If you give me 5,000 yen I might be able to give you some directions instead."

Ryoga sighed. He missed Akane already.

"Oh dear!" Kasumi exclaimed suddenly. "Akane was in such a hurry I forgot to give her lunch."

"I'll take it to her," Ryoga offered eagerly and before anyone could refuse him he plucked up the lunch box from the table and set off to goodness-knows-where.

Kasumi sat and watched him.

"Does he know where he's going?" she asked doubtfully.

"No," Nabiki responded tartly.

* * *

Nabiki was generally right about things, not that Ryoga knew it.

_Akane and I share a bond no one can possibly comprehend, _Ryoga thought ecstatically. _Even with my sense of direction I will easily find Akane because love guides the way!_

He promptly walked into a trash can.

"Are you all right?" a concerned voice asked Ryoga as he got to his feet and shook off the rubbish that was clinging to him.

There was nobody in the world who could get depressed quicker than Ryoga. "Of course I'm not all right," he answered miserably. "I thought I would be able to find my way but I couldn't." He sniffed, and wondered whether he would ever see Akane's dear face again.

"Do you know roughly where you're going?" the owner of the kindly and concerned voice asked. Looking up, Ryoga discovered that it was a tall, fit, bespectacled man, a few years his senior, who was beaming down at him in a benign and gentle manner. Ryoga instantly felt at ease.

"I don't know," he confessed easily. "I'm looking for Akane Tendo's school…"

"Ah!" The man's glasses flashed. "I'm the Tendo's family doctor, Tofu. You're not intending any trouble for Akane, are you?"

Ryoga shook his head.

"Good," said Dr. Tofu. "I'll take you to Furinkan High, then. That's where Akane goes."

* * *

Furinkan High was a co-educational school. Ryoga learned this when he walked past the gates and spotted Akane beating up a few boys on the front lawn. More than a few, actually. Probably more than three-quarters of the school's male population was out there in the front being knocked over like dominos by Akane's deadly right hook. Ryoga turned to ask Dr Tofu what the meaning of this was but he was already gone.

Turning back to watch the action, Ryoga decided that it was both fascinating and shocking to watch Akane fighting off boys with consummate ease. This rather heinous display of violence ought to have been off-putting for anyone with feelings for Akane, but it only attracted Ryoga more to her. He wasn't the only one feeling that way. Although the Furinkan boys had their reasons for ganging up on Akane, it rather seemed as if their situation was either masochism or a substitute for another form of strenuous physical activity involving Akane.

The Furinkan boys did not hate Akane. In fact, their feelings were positively amorous. However, Furinkan boys have a reputation (a true one) of not being too bright and they were convinced that knocking Akane's lights out would win her heart. Every morning before school, Akane's daily routine involved fending off against boys of all shapes and sizes with only the aid of her school satchel. Needless to say, it kept her in her remarkably good shape.

As the bell rang out for class to begin, Akane was left facing off with only one last boy. The others had been felled, groaning and clutched their various injuries. Deftly stepping over the sea of bodies, the last boy waved his wooden training blade and roared, "It is time, Akane Tendo!" He was tall and broad-shouldered Kendo student. From the way he handled his blade, it was obvious he knew a thing or two about his sport.

It was at that time Ryoga decided to intervene. A variety of thoughts had been going through his mind but at last it occurred to him that there was a possibility that Akane might get hurt and that she was late for class.

He yelled out her name.

Akane, who had been settling into fighting stance, immediately swung around.

"Ryoga?"

One of the felled boys weakly grabbed onto Akane's leg as she was distracted. "I love y-" He was instantly silenced when Akane slammed her foot into his mouth.

"Ryoga, what are you doing here?" Akane demanded.

"Indeed," said the Kendo student, "what relationship does there exist between you and Akane?"

Ryoga had watched quite enough of Akane fighting but he still had no idea what it was about or what she was fighting for. He wanted to make it clear that he didn't want to fight her himself, so he said simply, "Akane forgot her lunch."

It was the wrong thing to say, apparently.

"What?" the Kendo student boomed. "You are living at Akane's house? Did you not heed my instructions: You must defeat Akane in order to date her?" He blinked. "And how is it that I, Tatewaki Kuno, have neither hear of yourd existence nor laid my eyes upon you? What _name _do you go by?"

It was during Kuno's ramble that Akane managed to whisk the baffled Ryoga inside the school building unnoticed. Thus, leading the entire school population (They were watching through the windows) to assume that she and Ryoga were an item.

* * *

Akane stopped for breath only when she was inside the empty locker room and behind closed doors. She would have yelled at Ryoga for the fiasco outside but she knew he was ignorant of her daily routine. She breathed through her nostrils, counted slowly to ten and, without opening her eyes, said, "Thank you for the lunch, Ryoga."

It heavily disheartened Ryoga to see Akane have to apply so much of her self-control for his sake. Ryoga should have been happy about that; Akane seldom calmed herself down when she was in a passion and even then, only for a select few. But Ryoga never saw the good side of circumstances like that. He apologised to Akane.

He didn't know half the school was eagerly listening through the door for what Akane would say next.

"No, it's all right." She opened her eyes, gazing briefly at her shoes before shutting them tightly again. "It's just…"

Ryoga (and the school population) waited with bated breath.

Akane could contain herself no longer. "I HATE BOYS!"

She didn't even look at Ryoga as she stormed out of the locker room, fortunately not bumping into any fellow students to unleash her wrath upon. Her lunch lay forgotten on the floor. Gingerly, Ryoga picked it up in an effort to dispel the sudden feeling of numbness that had come upon him. What had Akane meant? Well, it didn't take much theorising about. She had been abrupt, loud and to-the-point. The numbness faded, slowly being replaced by yet another wave of melancholy. Ryoga sighed heavily.

"You and Akane had a fight, huh?" a girl said sympathetically.

Ryoga dimly realised that he was no longer alone in the locker room. Quite the opposite, in fact. He didn't know where there was room to breathe being surrounded by such a large crowd.

"So how long have you and Akane been going out?" a boy asked.

Ryoga blushed. He was about to explain that he didn't have a girlfriend, thus he and Akane were not going out, when suddenly he noticed the crowd clear off and there was a wooden Kendo blade pointing at his throat.

"What is your name, you lout?" Kuno asked him in a low voice. The sword quivered dangerously in his grasp.

Even if it is wooden, nobody likes to be on the receiving end of dangerous gestures with a sword. Ryoga was no different. He could see a battle imminent, one that he would be quite firm about winning. Ryoga had heavily disliked Kuno the moment he had seen him in the yard fighting Akane.

The onlookers noticed Ryoga reaching slowly for his umbrella which he kept with his hiking pack. "My name," Ryoga growled as he flashed his canines aggressively, "is Ryoga Hibiki."

The handsome, grim-set features of Upperclassman Kuno curled into a cruel smirk. "Well, then, Hibiki," he said slowly, "now that I know your name, it is time for you to meet an honourable death."

He swung his sword swiftly.

"You shall not have Akane!"


	2. Enter the 'Ouch' doctor Tofu

Chapter No. 2  
**"Enter the 'Ouch' doctor Tofu"  
**

A clashing sound reverberated around the building.

Then there was silence.

Ryoga pushed with all his might against Kuno's blade, grasping his umbrella tightly with both hands. He grunted as his muscles flared. The kendo blade began to crack under the umbrella's pressure. At last it split completely. Kuno took an involuntary step backwards as the severed part clattered noisily on the floor. He was, without a doubt, extremely angry.

"Curse you!" he spat at Ryoga. "That is no normal umbrella!"

Despite the despising look he was being given, Ryoga could not help but smirk.

Ryoga's umbrella was tougher than a steel rod. Although the material wrapped around it was soft and velvety, the very tip of the umbrella comprised of the stuff that golf clubs are made of. But it wasn't the umbrella that caused all the damage; it was Ryoga's sheer strength that made him able to snap Kuno's solid training blade without breaking a sweat.

"You've lost," he told Kuno simply.

The hapless upperclassman muttered something that would not look at all good on paper. But he was too stupid to run. Just for that, Ryoga threw a punch which sent him sailing out the window.

After this was done, Ryoga turned away and sighed. Now that the adrenaline of the fight had expired, he found himself falling into the lowest depths of despair yet again. He remembered that Akane hated him. He had also forgotten again to ask her directions to China.

* * *

Ryoga silently bid farewell to Akane as he shuffled towards the gates of Furinkan High. He would never see her again, not with his sense of direction.

At that moment, a stray ball from a baseball match smacked him on the head. Ryoga collapsed unconscious. He hadn't known what had hit him, or more importantly, whom. Whoever had done it must have had great muscular strength.

Akane looked up to see where on earth she had hit the ball. She hadn't seen where it had gone but it had to be a home run, surely. She felt a sense of pride for being so successful in gym class but it was tainted with inexplicable shame. She sighed and watched the other players on the field scramble around in a hurry.

Abruptly, she heard some of her classmates yelling. "Someone's been hit!"

With a sickening sensation in her stomach, Akane turned her head towards the gates and saw a familiar figure lying flat on the ground. He had been knocked out cold.

* * *

When Ryoga came to it was on something resembling a hospital bed. The sheets were pure white and clean-smelling, though not particularly comfortable to lie in. Ryoga realised that he was not in a hospital very quickly. The room did not have a hospital feel to it. Hospital rooms always have a peculiar quality of having a cramped atmosphere, even when there is ample room. This room, Ryoga saw, did not serve only to contain an invalid. The building was not a large one, serving as both a house and a clinic. Ryoga's room, as a result, had many diverse objects within. There were chairs, a couch, and vases on the table, posters and even a creaky old skeleton beside the bed. And there was Akane and Dr Tofu leaning over him. They were peering at him.

"You're awake!" Akane exclaimed. "I'm sorry I hit you."

As you may imagine, Ryoga was not at all sorry to have Akane concerned about him. Even though she had brought attention to the dull ache in his head which he had not noticed earlier, Ryoga felt very happy indeed. Happy enough to wrap his arms around Akane but he wasn't likely to do that too soon because Dr Tofu was in the vicinity.

Dr Tofu stood up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He chuckled. "Look at that bump on your head, young man! It's like an egg."

Ryoga gingerly rubbed the back of his skull. Dr Tofu was right. Ouch.

"Look at it," Dr Tofu was chuckling mirthfully. "It's got the mark of an Akane job!"

Akane, pointedly silent, obviously didn't think the situation was at all amusing. Ryoga kept his eyes to the floor.

At length, Dr Tofu realised that he was the only one laughing. He stopped abruptly and coughed into his handkerchief, muttering an apology.

Ryoga felt like leaving. It wasn't that he didn't like Dr Tofu, but the scene was getting awkward for him, and he hated being embarrassed.

"You'll be fine," Dr Tofu told Ryoga in an attempted matter-of-fact tone. "You've got a sturdy head on your shoulder. Drink lots of fluids and have a bit of rest. You're fit to go right now."

"Thank you." Akane had already turned towards the door.

As Ryoga and Akane were wordlessly crossing the front gate, Dr Tofu called out suddenly, "Ryoga! That's your name, isn't it? May I have a quick word with you?"

Akane nodded and remained where she was so Ryoga nodded too.

Dr Tofu took Ryoga back to the front door. He was smiling. It didn't take him long for him to explain to Ryoga what he had on his mind. "Akane's a nice girl, you know that?"

"Yes," said Ryoga, wondering what the point was.

"She's just a bit of a tomboy," Dr Tofu went on. "I always said short hair suited her better."

Ryoga shuffled his feet uncomfortably. It seemed as if Dr Tofu was inviting him to express his feelings about Akane to him.

"She says she hates boys," Ryoga said suddenly.

Was it him or did the light shining on Dr Tofu's glasses darken just a little?

"That's not true at all," Dr Tofu insisted. Then he sighed. "She's just confused, that's all."

Ryoga wondered what he meant.

* * *

The journey back to the Tendo household was thick with deafening silence. Akane was walking briskly and Ryoga fell in step behind her. Her head was down and she said nothing; nothing of her outburst earlier at school; nothing of what had happened at Dr Tofu's. Ryoga wasn't sure whether guilt was behind this behaviour or not. If it was, Akane was taking it a bit far. Ryoga felt uncomfortable in her stiff presence, but he was obliged to follow her because otherwise, he would never find his way to her house. At least, that was what he would say if Akane turned around and demanded to know why he was tailing her.

She did nothing on the sort. As she presented only her back area to Ryoga, he found himself being entertained by staring at her head. Her hair. It was long and swished behind her. Dr Tofu had said that short hair suited her better. Ryoga couldn't imagine an Akane with short hair. Her long hair, he reflected, was very cute on her.

Cute. But neither beautiful nor graceful.

So caught up in his thoughts, Ryoga failed to notice when he had arrived at his destination. He accidentally walked into Akane as she was taking off her school shoes.

"Ah, sorry! Sorry!" he exclaimed, backing away hastily. He expected Akane to run around and strike him just as she had struck the boys at school.

She turned around and gave him a weak smile. "Ah, Ryoga, you're still here? I forgot we have to get you to China."

Ryoga did not want to leave her for China right now. He wanted to know what was behind Akane's façade. He wanted to know where her true feelings lay. He wanted to place his hands on hers and ask her what she felt but he couldn't. Aside from being shy around girls, Ryoga was afraid of what the truth may be.

* * *

That night, Ryoga's second-priority dilemma was put forward and discussed.

"As you know," said Soun, "there is more to getting to China than knowing it's across the sea."

The Tendo family was sitting on the tatami mats wearing grave countenance. Ryoga was watching anime. He had never watched anime before, so it was rather exciting for him to see old reruns of Urusei Yatsura.

"We ought to get Ryoga a one-way plane ticket to China," Kasumi put forward in her delicate manner.

"But how much would that cost?" Mr Tendo asked anxiously.

"We could easily afford it if Nabiki cut back on her expenses just a little," said Akane.

Nabiki pulled a face that made it quite clear to everyone that there was no possibility that this would occur in the foreseeable future.

"I could get there myself," Ryoga suggested helpfully.

Everyone ignored that.

"Hey, I've got an idea for earning a quick buck," said Nabiki suddenly.

Kasumi frowned. "If it's dishonest…" she began.

Nabiki cut her off. "Of course not." Then she told everyone the idea she had in mind.

"No!" Akane snorted indignantly. "I'm not going through with it."

It was just after that when Soun asked, "Hey, where's the young man again?"

Ryoga was, quite randomly, nowhere to be found.


	3. Oh, goodness, my hair!

Chapter No. 3  
**"Oh, goodness, my hair!"**

Ryoga had gotten lost trying to find the toilet. It somehow didn't occur to him to look indoors for it. Fortunately enough, Kasumi found Ryoga wandering the halls of the Tendo Dojo, which was only a short distance from the house.

"Ah, there you are," she exclaimed in a tone of pleasant surprise.

Ryoga let his eyes trail around the dojo, his need for the toilet momentarily forgotten. It was not a particularly large dojo but certainly of good enough quality. The sparring room was well-maintained, the equipment near perfect. "Why's there a dojo here?" he asked curiously. "Are you a martial artist?"

"Oh, heavens no," Kasumi replied. "Akane's the closest one to a martial artist here. She comes here every day. But I've never seen anyone else practice here."

It certainly was a pity, Ryoga acknowledged, the dojo being so well-maintained and all.

Kasumi sighed. "Daddy's a bit obsessed with this place. He keeps it open, all day every day: The Tendo Martial Arts School of Anything Goes. I suppose it was all he had to lean on after our mother died."

If Ryoga had been slightly more prudent and intelligent, he would have seen what a sensitive subject this was. Maintaining a dojo, especially one as nice as that of the Tendo's, is a lot of money, and it gets more expensive every year. Kasumi, who was in charge of the family budget, did not like that but appreciated the sentimental value of the place. So did Akane. Nabiki cared nothing for it, on the other hand. She spent a lot (and I mean a lot) of money on other things and thus Kasumi knew the day was coming when Soun Tendo would have to say goodbye to his sweet dojo.

"If, say," said Ryoga suddenly, "a very strong martial artist took residence here and married one of Mr Tendo's daughters, would that improve the dojo's reputation?"

Kasumi hesitated and said, "I suppose so."

It takes absolutely no thought to know what was going through Ryoga's mind. If he came to Soun on the pretext of taking care of the Dojo, he would earn the approval to marry Akane. As they say, when you win over the father, half the job's done.

Ryoga had never had a plan for his life. He was pleased to know that now he did.

* * *

Unfortunately, one of Ryoga's flaws was an inability to put the foot down.

He couldn't mention that he wanted to stay when he heard that Akane had, after some heated discussion, agreed to Nabiki's money-making plan to get Ryoga a plane ticket to China.

"I don't really like Nabiki's idea but if it's to help then I'll be glad to do it," Akane told Ryoga. And of course, he was so enamoured by her kindness that he couldn't bear to inform her of his change of plan.

In the end, Ryoga decided that he would have to go to China, get the business over there out of the way, and then return to Akane and get married. It was a fool-proof plan.

* * *

The Tendo house was very quiet without Akane and Nabiki. Early in the morning they left for school in order to carry out The Plan. Ryoga didn't follow them; he had had enough excitement at Furinkan High the day before to sustain him for quite a while. As a result, he spent his time watching Soun and Kasumi on their daily routine. No offense to them but theirs was a lot less exciting than Akane's.

Soun proved that it was possible to spend four hours consecutively reading the newspaper. And then he put down the newspaper and meditated. For another four hours. Kasumi partook in the mystery of a mother's daytime activities, which a person of Ryoga's age seldom knew of. And neither did it interest him.

Lunchtime was a peaceable affair, by which time Ryoga was actually longing for excitement. He soon got it.

"I'm going shopping," Kasumi announced. "Would you like to come with me, Mr Ryoga?"

They ended up at Dr Tofu's place.

Dr Tofu was humming the tune of Sukiyaki to himself as he swept his front pavement methodically, seemingly in a good mood. The sign on his front door announced that his self-managed clinic was currently open. When Dr Tofu noticed Ryoga coming towards him, he looked up, smiled and waved. Then he noticed Kasumi.

A curious gleam came into Dr Tofu's eyes, which reflected into his glasses. His hands trembled violently and without warning he snapped his broomstick in half.

"Ah, K-Kasumi!" he gasped in a weak voice. "W-Why are you here?"

"Just dropping by to say hello," Kasumi replied. "Did I come at a wrong time?" she asked uncertainly.

"Of course not!" Dr Tofu insisted. "Come on in!" He threw the broken broomstick pieces into the air, both of which landed on Ryoga's head. And on the bump Akane had given him too.

To add even further insult to injury, Dr Tofu used Ryoga as a doormat as he invited Kasumi in.

"Oh dear, are you sure he's all right?" Kasumi asked Dr Tofu anxiously.

"He'll be fine!" Dr Tofu laughed dismissively. "Just needs to rest his young head a bit, the dear fellow." As he said this, he affectionately patted Ryoga a little hard on the head. Ryoga was pretty sure his bump had to be the size of a basketball by now.

Before Ryoga could follow the two young adults inside, Dr Tofu had closed the door on him. "Am I in some sort of slapstick comedy?" Ryoga groaned as he sat on the pavement and nursed his swollen head, all the time wondering why the normally sensitive Dr Tofu was so different when Kasumi was around.

* * *

Akane and Nabiki came home with a fistful of money and a first-class plane ticket to China. This cheered up Ryoga a great deal, as he had been spending a great deal of time wallowing in self-pity after the fiasco at Dr Tofu's place. To have Akane smiling at him was simply magical.

"We got all the money from Kuno," Akane explained to Ryoga over dinner. "The Kunos are one of the richest families in Nerima, and you know how Kuno likes me and all…" She looked unhappy about that.

Desperate to cheer her up, Ryoga said, "Thank you for your kindness. When I am done in China, I'll make sure to come back and, and…" He meant to say, "And shower you with happiness," but his heart was thumping painfully and he couldn't get the words out.

"We were glad to help," Akane smiled, somewhat evasively. Then she resumed eating dinner and soon, silence came over the Tendo family.

* * *

Ryoga was a bit miffed to know that he was to leave for the airport early the next morning. That night, he told Akane what he was going to do in China, in the privacy of the empty dojo.

"There is a man who I must fight. Well, he is not a man because he is a coward. I challenged him to a man-to-man fight but he ran off to China, so now I am going after him to even the score. His name is Ranma Saotome."

"Ranma Saotome?" Akane felt like she ought to know that name, for no reason she could discern.

Ryoga nodded. "Even if he is a coward, Ranma is the only man I consider a worthy rival. When I beat him, I'll be a true martial artist." Ryoga had convinced himself that going to China was part of his fool-proof plan.

Akane smiled. Ryoga was truly passionate about things and she couldn't help wanting to support him. In her mind, she saw no one more worthy of success than he. The poor guy had never even had a girlfriend – and he was sixteen, for goodness's sake.

Akane decided that, since Ryoga had confided in her, she would confide in him.

"Today, when I was asking Kuno for money, I felt so guilty. It was like I was just using him and leading him on. It's terrible. When you like someone and that person doesn't feel the same way but they're nice to you and you can't help loving them but it would have been better if they said 'I hate you.'" All this time, her tone was becoming bitterer and her voice shakier as she went on betraying more emotion than she normally did. She forgot that Ryoga was a boy at that moment. All she wanted was a shoulder to cry on.

Ryoga couldn't fathom what on earth Akane was talking about but it sure sounded depressing. What he knew was that she was definitely getting upset because her eyes began to water and she leaned into his body, weeping tears that she had kept inside of her for a long time.

There was a hitch in Akane's voice as she sobbed brokenly into Ryoga's chest. "I like Dr Tofu," she confessed, softly as if afraid of her own feelings.

Ryoga's world instantly came crashing around his ears.

"Is that true?" he asked, his voice painfully tight. At last he understood what Akane had been talking about.

"Yes," she said. (Ryoga felt as if he had been struck by an arrow.) "But he likes Kasumi. You can tell from the way he is around her."

Ryoga understood completely. He recalled what happened earlier that day but he honestly didn't care about that. It was as if he was being painfully deflated, cut and then throttled. Something writhed within him – it was agony. He felt very faint and very light-headed and he wanted to shut everything out. All this occurred within a second and more was to follow later.

"I," Akane sniffed, "really wish I was like K-Kasumi. I-I grew my h-hair long t-to be like her but it j-just gets in the way of what I r-really like: sports." A tear dribbled down her face and splashed on Ryoga's shirt. "I'm such a t-tomboy. I'll n-never be good enough for Dr Tofu."

In the midst of his own agony and despair, Ryoga saw that Akane was truly hurting as much as he was. And in that moment he came to a decision. What he did next was an action he would later bitterly regret. It was also probably among the most selfless things he had ever done.

First, he took off his bandana. One of the strange things about Ryoga Hibiki was that his bandana was as sharp as a razor blade and could be used as a knife. He had spare ones beneath the one had had taken off.

"Akane," he said gently, "you need to be shed of your burden."

And as he said this, he raised his bandana high and cut off the length of Akane's hair.

Akane froze. Her hair silently slid to the floor and her head immediately felt naked. She didn't know what her first reaction to this was. She didn't articulate any coherent thoughts.

Ryoga raised his head and stared at the stump of hair that remained, accompanied by bangs that Akane would later cut off herself. She was wordlessly touching the back of her head to confirm what Ryoga had done. "Dr Tofu told me that short hair suited you better," he said, swallowing and then smiling gently.

Akane said nothing.

"You may hit me if you wish," Ryoga announced.

Akane, being an agreeable sort of girl, promptly obliged. Then she stormed out of the dojo without sparing another glance at him. He could see in his mind's eye the tears that were still glistening in her angry and despairing eyes.

Ryoga wanted to sink into the floor and die in a hole.


	4. Those people who disliked Ranma

Chapter No. 4  
**"Those people who disliked Ranma"  
**

Many a day would pass by before Akane and Ryoga saw each other again. Ryoga left China very early in the morning and Akane received no word from him in the months that followed. She could only assume that he had forgotten her. There was only the note that he had left in the dojo where he knew she would find it.

It read: "I am sorry."

Earlier in her rage, Akane might have torn it up or thrown it in the dustbin, although by the time she discovered it, her ire had diminished somewhat. Akane was the type of person who got angry quickly, let it out on some hapless victim and then was calm until the process stared again.

But this time was slightly different from the other times. Akane might not have been furious but she held on to resigned disappointment in her heart. "Ryoga, you coward," she wrote sighing on the back of his note. Then she tucked the note away in her drawer and didn't look at it for quite a while.

**

* * *

**

Aside from nearly giving poor Kasumi a heart attack for having such a horrid haircut, the change over Akane was for the good. She never conceded to anyone that it had been Ryoga who had cut her hair; she only said that a change had been due. Lie or not, she seemed to take her words to heart.

Akane stopped 'hating' boys. That didn't mean to say that she stopped being violent when her temper flared up. The morning attacks gradually declined as the boys began to take notice of the real Akane. She was not always angry and pestering her wasn't the only way to get her attention. Not that Kuno took any notice of that.

As for Dr Tofu, Akane was shocked at how quickly she was able to move on. She had felt some hard feelings but it seemed as if Ryoga had cut them off as well. All she could think of Dr Tofu now was as an older brother and a friend. She still regularly came to him for help and advice.

So you could say Akane lived happily ever after. For a while.

**

* * *

**

The first time Akane heard that she had a fiancé was on a dewy spring morning. Her father told her of a young man named Ranma Saotome who was just coming back from a training trip in China. His father, a friend of Soun's, had written them a postcard.

"R-Ranma Saotome?" Akane repeated the name, paling visibly. Hadn't Ryoga mentioned someone named Ranma as his rival?

Indeed, the implications of having a fiancé failed to hit her immediately or even soon after. Something might have happened to Ryoga so he couldn't write and maybe this Ranma fellow might be able to tell her what had come to pass. Akane felt her knees buckle beneath her, weighed as they were with worry.

**

* * *

**

The story of Ranma's arrival at the Tendo Dojo is one worth telling for its own merit. Ranma and his father Genma were frightfully interesting people, being half-girl and half-panda respectively. Whatever the postcard Genma had sent to Soun contained, it bore no hint of that.

Ranma and Genma were cursed. I needn't go into too much detail over it, but cold water turned the teenage martial artist and his balding father into buxom girl and panda respectively, and hot water reversed the transformation. After the initial misunderstandings which arose from such bizarre circumstances, Ranma and Genma sat down to explain how the curse had come about.

"It was in China that it happened," Genma declared solemnly. "We were at the cursed springs of Jusenkyo and while training, we fell into two different springs. I hadn't known that there was a curse on those springs that made anyone who fell in take the form of the last thing that had drowned there."

"That was because you couldn't read the brochure, idiot," Ranma said tartly.

"Why, you…!" Then Genma fell onto Ranma and the two wrestled each other to the ground.

The tale had been a bit overwhelming, and to see father and son fight each other like two roosters in a cockfight just took the cake. Akane got to her feet.

"Stop it, you two!" she screeched. Genma and Ranma obeyed. "Now something's funny about this," Akane continued as she remembered where her real concerns lay. "Ranma, did you know Ryoga followed you to China? He might be cursed too now, thanks to you!"

And Ranma just stared at her blankly and said, "Who's Ryoga?"

He did not quite remember Ryoga's deep-seated grudge (I mean, friendly rivalry) against him. It dated back to their school days, when the two fought over the last piece of bread at the cafeteria. Ryoga had challenged Ranma to a duel and Ranma had chickened out. At least, that was Ryoga's version of the story. In Ranma's version, Ranma had waited at the appointed place of battle for five days on the sixth day, Genma had dragged him off to China.

It took a while for Ranma to remember all of this. When he did, he crossed his legs, rolled his eyes and muttered, "Who cares about Ryoga?"

Akane promptly whacked Ranma with a mallet she had conjured out of nowhere. "I do, you idiot! You've probably screwed up his life!"

Somewhere in China, Ryoga agreed with her. The more his life became entwined with Ranma's, the more he chased him and the more miserable he would get. He became lost and people presumed him dull-witted. Akane had been the only one who had ever been kind to him. Considering his fragile mentality, it was understandable why Ryoga could not bear the thought of seeing her again after she had hit him.

And he had recently taken the descent into hell. Akane's fears were very real: Ryoga actually had fallen into Jusenkyo.

**

* * *

**

Not far from the cursed springs of Jusenkyo, Shampoo the Chinese Amazon warrior was wandering the land. This rather attractive young lady dressed in battle getup was obviously looking for something by the manner she was shifting her intense gaze around the tranquil landscape. There was nothing human to be seen in the hilly backdrop. There were just trees and grass and a small, still river. Shampoo tightened her grip on her Chui and grit her teeth savagely. The gods seemed to be mocking her by giving her such an eventless, bright and sunny day instead of what she really wanted.

Shampoo momentarily stopped seething when she noticed movement among the river reeds. Leering downwards curiously, she saw a little black pig scurrying frantically about. It looked lost. More than that, it looked irresistibly tasty. Other girls might have described the piglet as cute but Shampoo was a practical-minded young woman and could only think about one thing at a time. Right now, she was feeling frustrated and hungry so without much ado, she plucked the piglet from where it stood and set about boiling some water so she could cook it. She must have been so preoccupied with boiling the water that she forgot to kill the loudly squealing piglet. No matter. It would be like cooking a lobster. She wasn't sure whether it would work for piglets but it would probably taste better that way.

This method was destined to fail. The moment the piglet's skin fell in contact with the scalding water, it transformed into a naked man. Ryoga, to be exact.

Our pitiful hero let forth a mighty wail and jumped hurriedly out of the pot of boiling water. In his haste he upset the contents all over Shampoo. She was too shocked to feel vilified at all and merely stared at Ryoga for a very long moment. As her gaze was drifting lower, Ryoga went several shades of crimson and covered his important parts with his hand. No girl had ever seen him naked before and damn it - he wanted Akane to be the first one. However, thinking of her made him feel ill so he said nothing.

Shampoo at last found her voice. "You stupid idiot!" she shouted. "Where did you come from anyway?" Unfortunately, all this was said in Chinese (Amazon tribe dialect to boot) and Ryoga had no idea what she was saying.

"Sorry!" Ryoga gasped in Japanese, leaving the confused Shampoo without any answers.

The two stared at each again for a long moment. They already had trouble communicating with each other.

Shampoo suddenly tossed a handful of her spare clothing at Ryoga and while waiting for him to dress in clothes several sizes too small for him, she pulled a scroll, ink and brush out of her bag and started to write something.

Let no one say that Shampoo is not clever. She knew that though she could not speak to Ryoga she could write to him. The Chinese and the Japanese use a similar writing scheme. The language structure is different and the Chinese characters are simplified as opposed to Japanese Kanji but at the end of the day it is possible for the Chinese man and the Japanese man to communicate on a very basic level. Through this method, it wasn't very long before Shampoo learned all the essential details from Ryoga, such as his name and about his curse.

'_Japan language... teach?' _Shampoo wrote. When Ryoga expressed feelings of confusion, Shampoo wrote why:

'_Shampoo… Japan … go … Ranma ... kill…'_

Ryoga was baffled. If Shampoo's broken sentence meant what he thought it meant then it might be that he and that girl shared grudges on the same person!

'_Ranma … Pig-tailed person?' _He wrote the Kanji quicker than he had ever written them before.

'_Ranma … know?'_

Ryoga hastily wrote, _'Join together … Ranma … kill …'_

And that was how Shampoo and Ryoga became friends.

* * *

**Author's note: **Shampoo's Chui are her weird weapons which I reckon vaguely resemble circus equipment. I hope you know what I'm talking about.

Another textual note: In the Japanese and Chinese language, the character for man is not gender biased. That means it reads as both 'man' and 'woman' and while it is easy to specify which, it's usually left to be figured out from context. This is an important fact, considering it's Ranma who's being talked about. Shampoo and Ryoga may not be thinking on the same wavelength in this matter…


	5. Two Ranmas! Also, Ryoga vs Shampoo!

Chapter No. 5  
**"Two Ranmas? Also, Ryoga vs. Shampoo!"  
**

Life with Ranma brought a whole new dimension of excitement to Akane's life. She wasn't in love with him (Oh, certainly not!) but she was amazed at how quickly she got used to having him around. So wacky was his curse that the hapless martial artist seemed to attract further wackiness wherever he went. For the most part, he and Akane ignored the fact that they were 'engaged'. Genma habitually made rash promises, so the two expected the whole thing to blow over anyway. They became friends. It had been a while since Ranma had anyone his own age to talk to, and Akane was a lot friendlier to Ranma than she would have been a while ago. That did not mean to say that they did not have their differences, and it was a common sight in Nerima in those days to see Akane chasing Ranma with a mallet in hand because he had called her a tomboy or had insulted her cooking. Sometimes, they refused to talk to each other for days on end.

It was during one of these uncivil periods that Ranma was walking the streets alone after school. He was hungry but knew better than to go back to Akane's house when she was in one of her moods. As he was penniless, he was considering turning into a girl and charming some young gentleman into buying lunch for him (which suggested something of Nabiki's nature must have rubbed off on him).

Ranma never got to carry out his plan, for as he was crossing the road, who should he bump into but Shampoo! He instantly paled.

You might have been wondering what history Shampoo and Ranma had to have such a difficult relationship. When Ranma first turned into a girl, she stumbled across the Chinese Amazon tribe and fought Shampoo for some victuals. Ranma won, so now Shampoo wanted to kill him (er… her). Still doesn't make sense? Well, that's Chinese Amazons for you.

There was one thing which Ranma had forgotten about Shampoo. She had tracked him down, yes, but she had only ever seen his female form. Her feelings towards bumping into male Ranma were far removed from murderous.

"Shampoo sorry!" the Chinese girl gasped, testing out her recently learnt knowledge of the Japanese language. "You hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Rama gulped. He began to edge away. Slowly was the key.

"You is sure?" Shampoo drew closer. "You is…?" She searched her mind, trying to recall the word for 'pale'.

Ranma swallowed nervously. No doubt to him it must have seemed as if Shampoo was trying to remember his name and when she did he would be sorry. It seemed like one of those times when a swift tactical retreat was necessary. He broke into a run.

"Hold!"

Ranma slowly turned his head around. Shampoo had latched onto his arm and there was an expression on her face which he had never seen before. It wasn't full of the hate and scorn he was used to dealing with. It was…

Slowly, in a sensual sort of manner, Shampoo closed her eyes and pushed her lips forward.

Ranma took the opportunity to run for the hills.

When Shampoo realised that she was only kissing air, she opened her eyes and stared blankly into the distance. She must have been too forward. A sense of disappointment overwhelmed her and she didn't notice the people who were staring at her odd behaviour and out-of-place clothing.

Then she heard a familiar voice. "Ah! There you are!" Shampoo turned around and saw Ryoga running towards her. She remembered that she had been waiting for him to finish in the toilets for about an hour now. He must have gotten lost inside the toilet cubicle again.

She sighed. "Stupid Ryoga."

"Hey!" Ryoga shouted indignantly. "I heard that!"

Shampoo sighed again.

"What's up with you?" Ryoga asked. Over the past few weeks, he and Shampoo had developed some kind of grudging companionship, though they never really got along. They were forced to cooperate because one had what the other lacked. Shampoo was an excellent tracker and didn't get lost easily, while Ryoga could help her get around Japan and could teach her Japanese. He couldn't really open up to her because he still felt raw from his experience with Akane, and Shampoo thought him too dumb to function.

However, she did respond to his question. "Shampoo," she explained, "meet pretty boy." Then she muttered something in Chinese.

Ryoga, who was definitely uninterested in Shampoo's love life, merely said, "I think it's time we got to Furinkan High. That's where Ranma is, right?" He had to speak slowly so Shampoo could understand.

**

* * *

**

Only once did Ranma looked over his shoulder to see whether Shampoo was pursuing him or not, and that was when he stopped. He fell to his knees, panting and shaking all over. Shampoo was the one person he couldn't handle. She had been about to give his male form the Kiss of Death and then he wouldn't be safe wherever he went. The fact that she had chased him all the way from China was testament to that. Ranma had no idea what he was going to say to Akane when she found out.

But then he stopped, scratched his head and considered. Had Shampoo really been about to give him the Kiss of Death? He remembered the look on her face before she had leaned forward to kiss him. A hungry look, a lean look, an _enamoured _look. Just thinking about it made him blush. Crazy as it sounded, Shampoo had looked rather cute. Ranma compared that with thinking the devil was cute. He felt extremely intimidated.

He looked up and realised that he was on the grounds of Furinkan High. That was actually too far from where he had met Shampoo. Cursing, he realised he must have run in circles in his blind panic.

He was about to find somewhere else to go (Akane was starting to seem a lot more attractive when pitted against Shampoo) when the sprinklers turned on and drenched him. Ranma was starting to take his sporadic transformations into a girl rather philosophically now.

He did, however, find it hard to be philosophical about seeing Shampoo storm into view, all cuteness evaporated and Chui in hand. He 'eeped'.

"Ranma! Kill!" Shampoo screeched, lunging forward swiftly. Ranma darted out of the way and quickly looked around for an escape avenue. He was about to jump over the sport shed and slip away over the rooftops when he heard a stranger's yell:

"No, Shampoo! That's the wrong person!"

Ranma blinked. He hadn't noticed earlier that Shampoo had arrived with someone else but now he took stock of the stranger. It was a boy around his own age, a good deal stouter and burlier than he was. There was something oddly familiar about his face, Ranma reflected. Perhaps it was someone he had met briefly on a training trip but he couldn't quite remember…

The boy was shouting. "Shampoo, that's a girl! How could she be Ranma?"

"What you mean?" Shampoo stopped and retorted. "Ranma woman!"

Ranma vaguely wondered whether this distraction ought to be a good opportunity for escape. He continued to stare.

"Do you mean to say," the boy seemed to be seething in rage, "that all this time you've been tracking down the wrong person for me?"

"Is Ryoga's problem," Shampoo answered smartingly.

Ryoga… Where had Ranma heard that name before? Ah, yes, that person Akane constantly talked about! His old rival!

Ryoga, meanwhile, still failed to recognise who Ranma was. (Not surprisingly, since Ranma acquired breasts since their last meeting.) He was wrapped up in his first real argument with Shampoo. He had up till now just went along with what she said, thinking her to be right, and now that he figured she was wrong, he felt angry enough to hit something.

As it turned out, Ryoga was not the one who resorted to violence first. Shampoo, who had now had quite enough of Ryoga's stupidity to encumber her, leaned forward and punched him in the stomach. Once he got over being winded, he forgot all about her being a girl and retaliated. Shampoo blocked his first strike by crossing her Chui in front of her. Ryoga growled and drew his umbrella. What followed was a bit like a fencing match, what with the two lunging at each other and parrying each other's strikes. Shampoo had two weapons and was faster than Ryoga, meaning she got a lot of blows in before he did. But none of them seemed to faze him. And with just one hefty blow he was able to disarm Shampoo of both of her weapons.

She suddenly stopped and went very white. She may have felt close to painful injury but she didn't attempt to block herself from her opponent at all. In any case, Ryoga would not have struck her because he was afraid that through his immense strength he would cause her serious injury. He didn't dislike Shampoo that much. But he was considering giving her an earful until Ranma called out his name.

"Ryoga!"

Ryoga turned and stared at the red-haired pigtailed girl Ranma. "How do you know my name?" he gasped. He was certain he had never seen the girl in his life.

"Never mind that," Ranma said quickly. "Do you realise what you've done?"

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"Look." Ranma pointed at the still immobile Shampoo. "Do you know what happens when an outsider beats a Chinese Amazon in combat? They swear to track you down and kill you! That's why Shampoo's chasing me!"

"So you mean…" Ryoga went very white himself.

At that moment Shampoo began moving. She slowly shook her head and blinked. Then she stared at Ryoga for a very long and sickening moment. Her eyes told him that she thought of him as lower than worms. But for some reason, she could not keep up the strong, prideful Amazon glare. She looked back down at her feet.

"Nihao," she said in a small voice, "husband."


	6. May I introduce Ryoga's wife?

Chapter No. 6  
**"May I introduce Ryoga's wife?"  
**

Akane forgot about being angry with Ranma when he started recounting his adventures of that day.

"You met Ryoga?" she questioned him, wide-eyed. Beside her at the table, her whole family looked on with interest. Genma didn't seem nearly as thoughtful as the rest of them, judging by the way he consumed second helpings without even looking up. Ranma nodded once.

"Yeah," he told her, and then mentioned casually, "He's married now."

Nabiki snorted. "But he's such an innocent!"

Akane couldn't help but agree with Nabiki and she stared down contemplatively at her half-eaten meal. She could clearly recall Ryoga's shining eyes, a face that became brighter when he looked at her. Had he truly forgotten her? "Who's he married to?" she asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't know her," Ranma replied, slightly uneasily. When Akane continued to glare at him, he acceded, "Her name's Shampoo and she's a Chinese Amazon warrior. Turns out if an Amazon is beaten by a male outsider, she has to marry him."

"Oh," said Kasumi. "How intriguing!"

Akane was not as easily appeased. "How do you know all this anyway?" she demanded, still glaring at Ranma.

Ranma opened his mouth to reply. Then he was rudely cut off.

From the open doorway there came a lusty cry, "Pretty boy!" in a betraying Chinese accent. There was a rushing of footsteps and before he could look up, Ranma felt slim, feminine arms encircle him. He sensed trouble and looked around at the staring Tendo family. Even his father was peering intently at him, his round panda eyes telling him, "You've done it now, boy."

Ranma spluttered, "M-May I introduce Ryoga's wife?"

"Are you sure they don't need marriage counselling?" Nabiki commented drily as Shampoo affectionately rubbed her head against Ranma's shoulders.

Meanwhile, Akane was seething. As she looked from Shampoo's adoring features to Ranma's nervous yet yielding body language, she felt the volcano inside her erupt. "You idiot!" she bellowed as she got to her feet. She delivered a not-so-friendly bop to Ranma's head and then stormed outside, not even bothering to spare a glance at Ranma as she went past.

He stared guiltily at her. He'd really muffed up this time and he hadn't even deliberately provoked her. Well, that was a little lie. Truth be told, he had been jealous of Ryoga because Akane spoke so highly of him. If only Shampoo hadn't taken away all the credibility of his half-truth. He wasn't sure how she had managed to track down his male form as well as his female form. But… things weren't as bad as they could be. Now if only Akane were as affectionate as this.

Shampoo, sensing Ranma stiffen, pointed her gaze upward at his face. There was something wistful in Ranma's countenance, and he was failing to respond to her caresses as she had hoped. It had to be the fault of that short-haired girl who had left the room. All her fault. Shampoo sat silently and fumed.

"Little Shampoo," Kasumi began gently, "I'm not sure if it's right to be cheating on your husband like this."

"Shampoo no marry Ryoga!" She pouted. She also relinquished her tight vice-like hug Ranma, allowing him to breathe again.

Soun felt it necessary to break his prior silence. "Ranma is engaged to Akane!" he bristled. Genma nodded in agreement.

Shampoo froze. It seemed as if some sort of message was finally getting through to her. "Ranma…?" she repeated the name, looking absolutely thunderstruck.

Ranma remembered yet again that Shampoo associated the name 'Ranma' only to her bitter foe, the pigtailed girl. She knew nothing of his curse. Thinking about Akane's furious face, Ranma decided that the misunderstandings ought to cease at once. He couldn't go on like this.

"Shampoo," he said suddenly, softly. The confused girl turned to him at once. "There's something I must tell you," he continued.

Shampoo said nothing, only swallowed and continued to gaze at him unblinkingly.

Ranma reached for a handy bucket of cold water, hesitated briefly and then tipped the contents on himself.

Shampoo's eyes became wide. She leaned forward, touched Ranma's chest and confirmed that he had become a busty she. Then she sat back and worked her mind furiously.

At last, she gasped, "You… like Ryoga is." She couldn't hold back a tear which slowly rolled down her cheek. When the tear fell past her chin, she added, "Cursed."

Ranma nodded slowly. "I am Ranma," he said.

Shampoo wordlessly got to her feet. It had become too much for her. First, her obligation to marry Ryoga and now this: Her pretty boy was really the girl she had sworn to kill. No. It was too much. She needed time to sort things out.

She mumbled a goodbye and then left through the front door. Perhaps she'd never return.

**

* * *

**

Ryoga, as usual, was lost. After Shampoo called him husband, she went into a sudden rage. She beat him around the head numerous times, nothing of which he felt because he was too shocked to acknowledge any pain. Then she left him alone and went off somewhere; he had no hope of tracking her down. The pigtailed girl had looked as confused as he had, and then she, too, took off to the winds. Which left Ryoga all alone.

He was back where he had started. Sometimes, Ryoga felt as if he wouldn't know what to do if he had a sense of direction, having no vocations anyway. First Akane, now this. Life sure sucked.

Ryoga had not yet left Nerima when he saw Shampoo walking down the road. He stopped. He was glad to see someone he recognised. But ought he to talk to her? She was a weird, violent girl - who was to say she wouldn't start beating him up again for no reason? She did look very down, as confused and as all alone as he was. He took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Sham-" His call was abruptly cut off when someone on the building above tipped water on the ground – on him. The rest of Shampoo's name came out as a high-pitched oink.

Despite being in her private world of misery, Shampoo recognised the two alternate voices as belonging to a friend she knew. Ryoga was a friend, even if he was part of her problems. She walked up to him and deftly picked him up by his bright, spotted headband.

Ryoga looked at Shampoo's face and realised that she had been crying.

"Cursed," she whispered in a bitter tone. "Ranma cursed. Is man and woman." She sniffed, for the tears were threatening to come out again. She relented.

It certainly was odd, Ryoga reflected, to see the proud and scornful Amazon woman so emotional. Up until then, he had never seen Shampoo as a real girl. Now he did.

Shampoo bowed her head. "Ryoga hate himself, yes? You is pig, worthless."

He said nothing to that.

The tears were literally streaming down Shampoo's face. "Shampoo never marry Ryoga!" she screamed, returning to her old habit and kicking Ryoga to goodness-knows-where.

She sighed after that. She honestly believed that letting out her pent-up anger and confusion on something would make her feel better. But it didn't.

**

* * *

**

Inside the Tendo Dojo, Akane released her anger on a punching bag. Immaturely enough, she had drawn crude facial features on the red bag and as she beat it up with relish, she imagined those features contorting in pain. "Jerk! Jerk!" she intoned passionately in time with her punches. Now this felt good.

"Akane! Shampoo's gone now! Aren't you going to come inside?" It was Ranma, calling her. She snorted hearing his voice and quickened her punches. "No!" she returned fiercely.

"Akane!" Ranma sounded exasperated. "What are you angry at me for, anyway? If you jealous, then-"

"I'm not jealous!" Akane insisted hotly. "But is it true about Ryoga and Shampoo?"

Ranma stepped into the dojo and shook her head uncertainly. "I'm not sure now. She called him husband but then said she didn't want to marry him."

"In any case," Akane continued as she gradually slowed her attack on the punching bag, "it's true Ryoga's forgotten me." She was surprised at how hurt she sounded. "He…" Her voice quivered, "He's such a coward, not daring to face me at all! I wanted to forgive him." She clenched her fist so tightly her knuckles went white.

It is a sad coincidence to hear commentary about your character that wasn't intended for your ears. Ryoga heard everything Akane said. Shampoo had kicked him into the Tendo's backyard, right in the thorny bushes outside the dojo. He froze at the sound of Akane's voice. He hadn't thought he would ever hear her sweet voice again. He had forgotten how much he had longed for it. But to hear her badmouth him, to know how little she thought of him, was almost more than he could ever bear.

He looked down at his little pig feet. _"Ryoga hate himself, yes? You is pig, worthless," _Shampoo had said. He had been afraid to believe her at the time but now all doubts were cleared. Ryoga truly despised himself. He let out a squeal so full of his agony and misery that he almost choked on it.

"What was that?" Ranma exclaimed in alarm.

Akane raced outside and reported, "It's a pig!" She cried. "Oh, you poor thing!" And she immediately pulled Ryoga out of his prison of thorns. The innate, motherly instincts Akane had within her immediately surfaced at the sight of the little pig whimpering as if it was in pain. She held the pig in her arms and gently kissed its nose. It immediately went still. "Oh, you poor thing," she said again, softly this time. "I will call you P-chan."

Ranma snorted. "That pig seems awfully human to me. It's blushing," she pointed out.

That Ryoga was still in love with Akane was certain. In fact, as she held him closer to her heart and embraced him warmly, he fell deeper for her. If Ryoga had one weakness, it was to kindness. Even if he knew that Akane's love was not for him but for the pig, he couldn't help but feel drunk on happiness. One might say that Ryoga fell in love not with Akane but to kindness itself, and that was why he felt so safe, so… at home, as if he knew where he was. It was something he had never felt before. It was easy to call this magnificent feeling love.

**

* * *

**

If there was one difference between Shampoo and Ryoga, it was that Ryoga brooded - Shampoo did not. She did not stay depressed for very long and soon found herself making plans for the future.

She thought about Ranma and wondered if anything could be done. Even if he was the girl she despised, she loved him and she came to that realisation soon enough. She knew it was love because of this sense of attraction she felt being near him. He was handsome and had a cute smile and was so yummy she could eat him. Her body reacted, sending shivers down her spine just being with him. And from all the talks she had had with her great-grandmother, she understood what she was called to do.

If Ranma was actually a man, she would marry him, not Ryoga. After all, Ranma had defeated her first. That thought relieved her. There were two distinct choices she could make: One, she could go back to China to her great-grandmother waiting for her. Or two, remain in Japan and see if she could win Ranma's heart. She was more inclined towards number two, really.

As she got her feet, she grinned. Wasn't it right that after night there was dawn?


	7. The rain stopped

Chapter No. 7  
**"The rain stopped"**

Sure enough, dawn came over Nerima. The fresh yet lingering tranquillity in the morning air was yet to be disturbed by morning bustle. It was hard to imagine that any zaniness could occur in such a peaceful neighbourhood. Perhaps that was why Akane preferred the morning to any other time of the day. It offered a brief respite to the day's events, come what they be. Akane embarked on her routine jog and hummed in content.

She left Ryoga (Or P-chan, as we must now call him) in her room. She had been sleeping with him the night before and had enjoyed the experience. P-chan had seemed so docile and subservient, and Akane wondered if the little pig had ever been shown much attention before. Did P-chan ever know his mother?

The answer is yes, although that is beside the point. The point is that P-chan at length woke up, found Akane missing and cried pathetic piggy tears. Then he resolved to search for his beloved on the streets. He ought to have known it was a bad idea, but as they say, love is blind and, especially in P-chan's case, lacking in any kind of bearings at all.

Not only did P-chan fail to stumble across Akane, he only narrowly avoided being squashed by a high school girl who was tossing black roses around and laughing as if she was on something. Then Shampoo happened to come by riding a bicycle faster than a Formula One racing car. She ran over him and pedalled on blithely, much to P-chan's annoyance. He hadn't known Shampoo had a bike. If he had, he probably would have been spared a lot of grief during his travels with her in tow. Stupid girl never thought of other people. Grumbling, P-chan got to his feet and trotted after Shampoo as fast as his fat, little legs could take him.

Shampoo stopped in front of a neat, fair-sized house that was maddeningly familiar to P-chan. "I back!" she called as she deftly disentangled herself from her bike.

The door opened and Dr Tofu's beaming face appeared at the entrance.

"Ah, welcome back, Shampoo! You delivered those medicines as I asked. What a great sense of direction you have, considering you've only been my assistant for a day! Come on in!"

Feeling his heart rise within him at the sight of a friendly, familiar face, P-chan hopped past Shampoo and presented himself to Dr Tofu with a hearty oink.

"Oh, what's this?" Dr Tofu adjusted his glasses and peered curiously at the little pig seated upon his doorstep. "Do you want warm milk?"

"Not cat," interposed a chuckling Shampoo. "Is Ryoga."

"Ryoga?" Dr Tofu blinked inquisitively, but Shampoo had already retreated indoors. She reappeared a moment later carrying a kettle of scalding water, which she promptly tipped on P-chan.

"OUCH!" It might have been from being a piglet for longer than usual - Ryoga squealed as if he was still P-chan. "Not so hot, dumbass!"

"Whatever. You wear clothes. Shampoo pay not see Ryoga naked."

It was with haste that Dr Tofu ushered Ryoga inside and offered him suitable attire. As the doctor prepared tea for Shampoo and Ryoga, he asked, "So you fell into Jusenkyo, huh?" He shook his head with sympathy. "You poor thing."

"I know," nodded Ryoga. It actually felt pretty good to have someone interested in hearing him mope about life in general.

"Well, cheer up!" Dr Tofu insisted. (Or maybe not, Ryoga thought.) "Life's not too bad! You can live with a curse like that. Ranma does."

Ryoga looked up sharply.

"He turns into a girl," Dr Tofu laughed. "How about that? Isn't that worse than being a pig?"

Ryoga was stunned. "A girl?" Then he said quickly, "A pigtailed girl? Red hair?"

"That's the one!"

Ryoga felt faintly ill. His stomach sort of turned over.

"Idiot Ryoga!" Shampoo declared scornfully. "You see? Shampoo right! Ranma cursed."

Ryoga groaned. The idea that Ranma had been under his nose for an entire day was like a disembowelment to him. Also, the fact that he had thought of this girl-type Ranma as cute and good-looking made it all the worse.

"He's living with Akane!" he moaned. "Under the same roof! Gah!"

"Well, he is her fiancé," said Dr Tofu.

"God damn it," Ryoga and Shampoo said simultaneously.

**

* * *

**

Ryoga would not have been surprised if someone told him he was a character in a comedy manga and that far away, people were laughing at his misfortune. Slapstick wasn't funny when you were the one getting hurt and Ryoga wondered what was wrong with him that he should deserve such unjust treatment. He always thought that if people ever got their eyes checked, they might see that his life was actually painful, not uproariously funny. Really, was it his fault he had such a tragic sense of direction? Or that the only things that were ever attracted to him were flies and bad weather? For Ryoga to find a girlfriend was the rough equivalent of climbing Mt Everest without bottled oxygen and Sherpas. It wasn't fair that he was born ugly!

"Idiot," Shampoo said in her usual acid tone. "Ryoga not ugly."

Ryoga paled. "Was I saying all that out loud?"

Shampoo nodded. "You is stupid," she added. "Attitude wrong. Self-hating men such turn-off."

Ryoga felt indignation boil up inside him. Why was Shampoo so eternally mean to him? Hadn't she been the one who had called him worthless in the first place? He couldn't satisfy her, whatever he did!

He sighed. "Hey, where are we?" he asked, because he didn't want to walk in silence.

For some reason, he was walking on a rail and Shampoo was walking on the path beside him. A quick glance told him that he was still in suburbia. The sun had now properly risen. When had he left Dr Tofu's house?"

Shampoo explained, "We run out in hurry. We go Ranma's place."

"So I can take my revenge?" Ryoga asked hopefully.

"No," she answered hastily, "so Shampoo marry Ranma."

"That doesn't make any sense," he uttered, bewildered. "I mean, didn't you want to kill him earlier?"

"Remember Ryoga beat Shampoo and Shampoo call Ryoga husband?"

He blushed and said, "Yeah."

"Ranma is man and beat Shampoo first," she continued. "So Shampoo marry Ranma."

"B-But he's engaged to Akane!"

"Then Shampoo kill Akane."

"Don't do that!" Ryoga said sharply, alarmed.

Shampoo was silent for a second and then turned and smiled at him. Not a very sweet smile but a shrewd one, the sort of smile a cat might give to a mouse it was playing with. "Ryoga like Akane?" she asked, with a sort of purr and a fluttering of eyelashes.

Ryoga stopped and stared. He could never figure Shampoo out. Or girls in general, for that matter.

"Why you no confess?" Shampoo asked. At first glance, one might have thought she asked out of genuine concern for Ryoga but on closer examination, the scorn never really left her face and she emitted a low, wordless murmur that almost sounded as if she was laughing at him.

Ryoga said quietly, "You know, sometimes I really envy you, Shampoo."

"Why?"

"You'd do anything to get your way," he said. "Wouldn't you?"

She turned her nose up at him. "What that mean?"

He chuckled. "Nothing much, I guess. You'd sacrifice yourself and others to get something. I could never do that. I'm just a tool to you, aren't I?"

"Is not!" Shampoo retorted fiercely. "Ryoga friend! Shampoo prove it! I take you Ranma's house!"

And with that, she harshly grabbed Ryoga's hand and dragged him straight along the road. She looked furious.

**

* * *

**

Having raised enough of a sweat to sustain her, Akane decided to finish her morning exercise and jog back home. This she did while taking in the sights around her. The roads were filling up and more people were up and about now that the sun had well and truly risen. Nerima's central was a very busy place at all hours of the day. As Akane drew further away from it in her homeward journey, she saw less workmen hurrying about frantically and more homeowners walking their dogs or going to the shops at a more leisurely pace. The only person in a hurry she saw now was Shampoo, who was running while holding Ryoga's hand.

Wait… _RYOGA_?

Shampoo and Ryoga did not look as if they were dating simply because Ryoga's face was meeting the pavement. But still… it was Ryoga! So Ranma had been right about Shampoo and Ryoga being connected, whether by marriage or otherwise. Akane did not care just then. She had given up hope of ever seeing him again. Her friend who had changed her life…

She stared until Shampoo turned the corner and the two of them vanished. Then it occurred to her that she ought to have said a greeting.

"Wait up!" she yelled, panting as she gave chase.

There was no way Shampoo could have outrun Akane while she dragged Ryoga's weight behind her. She stopped. "Yes?" she said, politely yet coldly.

Akane ignored her. She was much too concerned about Ryoga. She got to her knees, called his name and shook his shoulders fervently. He groaned weakly.

"Akane?" His eyes, screwed shut, began to flutter open.

He had abandoned her, but she had found him again. "It's been a while. How have you been?" she asked him smiling and with shining, watery eyes. "Why did you never call me?"

"I thought… you hated me," he gasped.

What was that look on Akane's face? What did those unshed tears mean?

"I don't hate you," Akane insisted. "I never hated you."

Ryoga's eyes became shiny themselves.

Idiots, thought Shampoo.

Ryoga mentally debated with himself whether he ought to nonchalantly put his arms around Akane and perhaps cry out her name, clichéd romantic style. Maybe Akane was the type who got carried away by the emotion. He went so far as to raise his arms an inch but then fell back, as if exhausted by the effort.

"Are you all right?" Akane frowned with worry. "Here, I'll help you up." She took hold of Ryoga's hand. He felt something like electricity pass through him briefly. Something within him broke free.

"Oh, Akane!" The tears burst out unashamedly, and Ryoga sat up and pulled Akane into his arms. How frighteningly bold of him.


	8. Ryoga's difficult confession

Chapter No. 8  
**"Ryoga's difficult confession"  
**

Inside the Tendo household, breakfast was being served. One person was missing from the table.

"Where's Akane?" asked a worried Kasumi.

Nabiki shrugged. "Still out training, I suppose."

Kasumi frowned. "She'll be late for school."

Ranma looked up and glanced towards the door. Nobody was coming. Maybe something had happened to Akane.

'Be a gentleman and go find her.' Genma waved the sign he had written on under Ranma's nose.

Before Ranma could argue back, Kasumi dropped two packed lunches onto his lap. "Please give one to Akane, okay, Ranma?" she asked with a sweet smile.

It was one thing arguing with his old man but quite another to talk back to sweet, kind Kasumi. Ranma knew better than to refuse her. He took the lunches, tucked one under each arm and then set off.

The moment he stepped outdoors, he could smell the rain coming. Although the day had been shaping up to be sunny earlier, the wind had now picked up and clouds were starting to cover the skies. There weren't any storm clouds but even so, Ranma predicted a light shower forthcoming.

Stupid Akane, running in any kind of weather, he thought. Where was she, anyway?

**

* * *

**

"Um… Ryoga?" Her voice sounded muffled.

She was utterly taken-aback by him hugging her. (Who wouldn't be?) She hadn't expected Ryoga's feelings to be like this. She hadn't expected that he had missed her as much as she had missed him. It never crossed her mind that perhaps Ryoga thought of her as more than a friend. In some ways, she was as innocent as he was.

When Ryoga realised what he had just done, he was horrified. "I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, unnecessarily loudly and hastily. He backed away and his face was as red as a tomato. To think that he had hugged Akane! She must think of him as another Kuno now!

"Silly," Akane giggled. "I've already forgiven you."

Ryoga stopped. Did Akane mean what he thought she meant? She _liked _being hugged by him? Did that mean…?

"For cutting my hair, you know. It might sound weird to say this, but it really made me a better person. I'm actually very grateful."

"Oh," said Ryoga. That hadn't been what he had been wanting to hear, oddly enough.

"You must have been caught up in other things," Akane said suddenly with a meaningful glance at Shampoo. "I guess you really must have gone to China. So are you really married to Shampoo?"

He blinked. "Of course not!" he insisted. "That's a stupid lie she made up!" How could Akane think that of him? He would never, no matter how afraid he was, willingly choose Shampoo over Akane! The idea was absurd.

"Oh," Akane blinked. "I didn't know you were so popular with the girls!"

"He wish," Shampoo snorted. Ryoga was just no in so many ways.

"Akane, what can I say to give you the right idea about me?" he groaned.

Akane didn't reply to that. She didn't get the chance.

Shampoo heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see who was coming. "Nihao, Ranma!" she exclaimed in a pleasantly surprised tone. She straightened up and waved. Honestly speaking, it was the best thing that had happened to her all day.

Ranma, who had been in mid-run, slowed to a trot and then he halted. He had an uncomprehending look on his face. "Shampoo, you're still here? I thought you went back to China!"

"No, no, Ranma darling!" Shampoo cooed earnestly. "Shampoo marry Ranma!"

"Complex character, isn't she?" Akane remarked drily.

"Not really," said Ryoga.

They exchanged a glance and grinned.

It was then Ranma noticed those two for the first time.

"Akane! Ryoga! What are you doing here?" So this was what Akane had been up to, having a rendezvous with Ryoga! Star-crossed lovers, were they? For a reason he did not want to figure out, Ranma felt his blood boil.

For reasons he was perfectly aware of, Ryoga was equally as livid. "You!" he snarled as he sprang to his feet. He was unarmed, but he bared his teeth fiercely to make up for it. "Ranma, prepare to die!"

"What have I done wrong?" Ranma demanded. "Tell me what I've done and I'll try and make up for it!" Ruefully, he realised he should have asked earlier when he had been a girl and Ryoga had not wanted to kill him or at least inflict serious bodily harm.

Ryoga shook his head with a savage energy. "What have you not done wrong?" he retorted tersely. "Because of you, my life has turned to hell!" He would have added, "And you stole my girlfriend!" but he wasn't even sure Akane was his girlfriend and Shampoo would have laughed at him.

Instead, Ryoga glared and then roared, "It's time to settle this, Raanmaaaaaaaa!"

He charged. His sheer strength was mind-numbing. Ranma only barely managed to dodge Ryoga's swift and furious punch. Ranma turned his head and saw that though Ryoga had missed him, the other boy's fist had collided into the brick sidewalk and had broken a hole right through it.

Shampoo gasped. "Ryoga strong!" In all their travels, Ryoga had never displayed such brutal and concentrated power. If Ranma was not careful, he might actually find himself completely blown away.

Ranma was worried. Somewhat. With the blind speed of a completely crazed wild boar, Ryoga uprooted a stop sign and swung the thing at Ranma. Ranma's evasion was even narrower than his first. He was forced to back flip into the water and then swim out back onto the footpath. Ryoga made no attempt to follow him and instead waited by the brink of the water for Ranma to come to him. Completely drenched and female, Ranma realised with a sinking heart that he was probably going to be late for school and he and Akane's lunches were utterly spoiled.

"Stop it!" Akane yelled suddenly, frantically. Hastily, she planted herself between Ranma and Ryoga. "Ryoga, you're really going to hurt him the way you're going! Stop!"

Her shouting did the trick. Ryoga blinked and the red haze in his eyes went away. But… was Akane taking Ranma's side?

"Ryoga wasn't going to kill me," Ranma muttered. "I don't need to be rescued by a girl."

"I…" Ryoga began. "Akane…"

She cut him off. "You said you respected Ranma. You said he's the only one you consider a worthy rival." She sighed. "Something happened to you in China. That's why you're angry at Ranma."

Ryoga said nothing. There was nothing to say. Akane already knew she was right.

"Listen to me, Ryoga," she said seriously, in the sort of way that commanded him to look up into her beautiful, intelligent eyes. "Did you fall into Jusenkyo?"

Ryoga's heart stoped beating.

What was he to say? Of course he had fallen in. It had never crossed his mind to reveal the secret, but if ever there was a time, it was now.

Fear gripped him abruptly. He had fallen into Jusenkyo and become worthless, but more than that, he was Akane's pet. He could never forget that night he had spent in her bed, his snout pressed tightly against the hill of her breasts. He dreamt dreams he had never dared to dream before. And now she was to expose his secret lechery. He couldn't bear it!

He felt sick. A slippery, agonising sensation came over him. There was cold fear and hot shame, intermingled to form pain and cowardice. Oh yes, he was a coward - he knew that perfectly well.

"_He's such a coward!"_ Akane had said.

_"Attitude wrong!" _Shampoo had said.

Their voices resonated in his ears. The loudest voice was his, he realised. "Akane can never love you as a man," the voice sneeringly echoed. "You are a pig and a coward. What is there to like?"

Again, he could hear Akane's question fall from her lips. _Did you fall into Jusenkyo?_

Ryoga opened his mouth and said, "No."

At that moment, it started to rain.

"No," he gasped. But the word didn't come out. All that came from his mouth was an ugly pig's squeal.

In the grey, colourless water, he caught a reflection of himself. He was hideous.

**

* * *

**

"_Are you lost?"_

"_I don't know my way back home."_

"_You've probably run away from home."_

"_No, I haven't. I forgot where my home is."_

"_How could you forget your home? You're a coward for running away!"_

"_No…"_

"_You are a coward, always running away!"_

"_I don't know…"_

"_Are you a man?"_

"_Not any more."_

"_It's all your fault."_

**

* * *

**

He could hear Akane yelling his name as the blood pounded in his ears. There was nothing in the world but his shadow and there was nothing to do but run. So run he did.

Shampoo watched Ryoga blindly dash past. She did not have the heart to scorn his cowardice. She picked up a rock and threw it at his head. Ryoga fell over, dazed, unable to run any longer.

"Can't run from self," Shampoo said unusually softly as she cradled the frightened piglet in her arms.

Akane saw the look of pure hatred on Ryoga's face. She knew who it was for. It was then she lost all control of her limbs. She collapsed onto her knees and before she knew it, she was crying.

"Ryoga…" Ranma muttered sadly, still floating in the water.

**

* * *

**

The next day, Ryoga was nowhere to be found and Akane received a letter.

'Dear Akane,' it began:

'It's true; I am P-chan. I'm sorry I never told you before. The truth is; I became your pet because I love you and I was too afraid to admit it.

'I have gone away on a training journey to become strong. I don't want to be a coward any more. My destination is China. Shampoo is coming with me to help me find the way. Perhaps there I can find a cure to my curse.

'Maybe one day I can come to love myself. And when it happens, for sure I'll come back to you. Until then, please take care.

'Yours, Ryoga.'

Akane never told anyone what she thought of the letter. She only placed in her drawer on top of Ryoga's first letter. Before she closed the drawer, she withdrew the first letter and scratched out what she had written on the back. Then she wrote a new message, one that made her smile in a sad sort of way.

'Ryoga, you coward' was replaced with, 'I believe in you.'

"Even if you are pervert," Akane chuckled as she closed the drawer and resumed her life.


	9. Friend or foe?

Chapter No. 9  
**"Friend or foe?"  
**

They rowed laboriously together across the sea. Ryoga seemed even more depressed than usual. His head was down, his mind in Japan. Shampoo knew she could not reach him.

The world was silent, save for the wind and the sound of the paddles splashing the water.

Shampoo sighed and allowed her mind to drift off too.

She took herself back to that day when Ryoga transformed in front of Akane. When she thought about that, she knew why she was helping Ryoga now instead of getting with her beloved Ranma. All this time, Ryoga had been crying out for help and nobody had been listening. Why had she closed her eyes to his suffering? Probably because she had never taken him seriously. Now she was going to take Ryoga to her tribe instead of Ranma.

Ryoga, over Ranma? Ridiculous. Shampoo's body did not respond to Ryoga as it did with Ranma. She wondered what was more powerful, friendship or love.

It seemed as if the time had come to put others before herself. Shampoo was not sure if she was ready.

**

* * *

**

Cologne of the Chinese Amazon tribe read and then reread the letter she held tightly in her withered hands. She sat on a high stool by a table, her wide unblinking eyes regarding the handwriting of her great-granddaughter.

Although Cologne had only that day received the letter, it was written quite a while ago. It took some time for letters to reach the obscure Chinese Amazon tribe. Shampoo wrote that she had met a Japanese martial artist and he was currently teaching her Japanese.

'At this rate,' she had written in Chinese, 'I will be able to kill Ranma soon and come back home.'

Cologne frowned and shook his head. "Shampoo, you can be so stupid sometimes. Didn't you know I could speak Japanese fluently?" She sighed. "Life's ironic. Shampoo didn't even need to go to the trouble of getting a strange boy to help her."

"A strange boy?" It seemed as if Cologne was not alone as she had wanted to be.

The leader of the Amazon tribe turned and regarded the long-haired bespectacled boy who had burst into the entrance of her hut. "Ah, Mousse. What are you doing here?" she asked in a slightly frosty tone.

Mousse growled. "Answer me, you old hag! Who's this strange boy Shampoo's gone out with?"

"I wouldn't say 'gone out with'," said Cologne. 'More like 'made use of.'"

Mousse simply glared at Cologne in answer.

She sighed. "She says here her companion's name is Ryoga Hibiki."

"Ryoga Hibiki, huh? Him teach my beloved Shampoo Japanese instead of me!" Mousse roared. "From this day forth he is my sword enemy! I shall go to Japan this very day!"

Cologne wordlessly watched Mousse storm off. Here was a strange boy. At age three, Shampoo had spurned him and thirteen years later he still pursued her to similar levels of encouragement. Unless Shampoo changed her mind about him, he had no chance to win her hand in marriage. As for defeating Ryoga, that meant nothing because Shampoo had given no indication in her letter that she even thought anything of Ryoga at all. Whoever this Ryoga person was.

"A martial artist, huh?" Cologne muttered to herself as she once again perused the letter.

The old woman was looking for a real suitor for Shampoo: a strong, brave and worthy martial artist whose finesse must far exceed Mousse's. Not that she could be bothered telling that to Mousse either. Poor guy. She didn't hate him really, certainly not as much as Shampoo seemed to.

**

* * *

**

"Hey, Ryoga, something Shampoo need tell."

They were walking en-route to the Chinese Amazon tribe. A familiar backdrop of greenery was painted around the two weary travellers.

"Yes?" Ryoga said, looking up at Shampoo as he trudged along. At least he was talking now, even though his eyes still had a haunted, listless look about them.

Shampoo cleared her throat, gazed at the hills and valleys ahead, and then said, "Soon we home. Great-grandmother Cologne train you, yes?"

"What, an old lady?" Ryoga asked incredulously.

"Of course," Shampoo nodded earnestly. "Great-grandmother very strong martial artist."

"I wonder how that could be," Ryoga mused.

Shampoo hit him on the head.

"What was that for?"

"Shampoo try help you and this how Ryoga thank?"

"Well, I don't exactly need you, do I? You just started following me around!"

This was a Ryoga who was not being himself. Suffering had made him selfish and now he was prepared to lash out at the nearest person. He did not want to lose the last shred of his dignity, wherever he perceived it lay.

But Shampoo failed to realise this.

"What you mean? I show China!"

He snorted. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you fancy me!"

"FANCY YOU? WHO EVER FANCY YOU?"

What had happened to their friendship? She had honestly wanted to help him, had sacrificed her wishes for his needs. And yet, their so-called "friendship" had broken down so easily. Theirs was really a hurtful relationship, where one sought to wound the other has much as possible. It would have been better if they had never become friends at all!

Shampoo dug into her brain and pulled out the most hurtful insult to Ryoga she could think of. "_P__ig_!" she snarled venomously. She was trembling, not with trepidation but with anger. Standing erect, she turned her chin upwards and stared defiantly into his eyes.

At first, he was visibly winded and then his eyes re-entered the battle, blazing with crimson fury. "You…! You…!" He could not find the words to express how he was feeling.

And suddenly he felt arms encircling him, _hugging _him. "What the hell…?" the words formed on his mouth.

"Oh, Shampoo!"

It was Mousse. He must have sneaked up on Ryoga during the glaring contest. Her argument momentarily forgotten, Shampoo found herself rolling her eyes, a now involuntary reaction whenever Mousse was close by.

"Put glasses on, Mousse," she told him coolly.

Mousse blinked and then did as he was told. Apparently, the Chinese boy was near-sighted, Ryoga noted. If he wasn't so angry, he might have laughed at Mousse's ridiculous coke-bottle style glasses.

"Gah!" Mousse suddenly yelled as he realised that he had mistaken a man for Shampoo. He quickly recovered. "You must be Ryoga Hibiki!" he exclaimed.

"How do you know my name?" Ryoga did not like the way this stranger was pointing the finger at him and glaring at him as if…

"We're rivals!" Mousse confirmed. Then he tried to hold Ryoga up by his shirt, but that failed miserably because he was too stout for that. So Mousse settled with standing back and leering in an intimidating manner. But that also failed miserably because his glasses completely covered up his eyes.

"You read Shampoo's letter to great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked Mousse.

"Yes," Mousse replied solemnly. "Shampoo, why did you choose that boy over me? Look, can't you see I'm talking Japanese to you right now?"

It was true. Ryoga could understand every word Mousse uttered.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously.

Mousse attempted a prideful, withering glare and straightened up. "I am Mousse of the Chinese Amazon tribe and I am Shampoo's suitor," he said impressively.

A passing bird overhead did its business all over Mousse's long, intricate robes. Shampoo giggled.

"Not much of a suitor, is he?" Ryoga snorted. And ironically enough, that was one of the precious few things he and Shampoo agreed upon.

Meanwhile, Mousse was getting steadily more frustrated. "Enough!" he roared suddenly. Again, he pointed a finger at Ryoga. "I challenge you to a match at sundown!"

"Why not do it now?" Ryoga asked. He never could resist a challenge.

"In these robes? Ridiculous! I have to go home and change first!"

And they had to be satisfied with that.

**

* * *

**

As the final leg of the journey commenced, Mousse in tow, Shampoo seemed to walk along with a clouded face. She was ill at ease. She had probably killed Ryoga's self-esteem. What the hell kind of friend was she? The horrible feeling she had felt on the boat, now she knew what it was. It was guilt. Shampoo had never questioned her actions before. The comfortable dimensions of her world were again alarmingly jilted, just like the time when Ranma had defeated her. What was happening to her? Was compassion creeping into her icy heart?

Shampoo needn't have bothered with any word of apology. Ryoga's self-esteem had not shattered. In fact, he was almost feeling good because of Mousse. There actually existed people more pathetic than him in the world. There was nothing quite like slapstick which made one feel better about his own situation. As for Shampoo's insults, she wasn't exactly _nice _to him. He was used to it. If Akane had said the same words, yes, that might have proved a thorn in his heart.

_Oh, Akane… _He wondered how she was doing.

Mousse trotted next to Shampoo and ceaselessly asked her questions about her well-being, and didn't seem to notice that the minds of his companions were far, far away.

**

* * *

**

"Back already, I see," said Cologne wryly.

That was what she said to Mousse when he walked past the gates. She saw Shampoo next.

"Ah, Shampoo, welcome home! And that must be your friend, Ryoga." She spoke in rapid Chinese, and Ryoga looked at Cologne without understanding anything she said at all.

Shampoo replied, "I am home, great-grandmother."

"So, then, Ranma is dead, I presume?"

Shampoo knew this question as coming. She had spent the entire trip mentally preparing for it. To tell Cologne the truth – that Ranma was actually a man and that she wanted to marry him – would shame her because she had returned without him. Furthermore, admitting that she had given up trying to kill him would also ruin her honour. Without honour, a Chinese Amazon was nothing, certainly not permitted to be alive.

Shampoo had known what she would have to say the moment she stepped on the boat to navigate Ryoga to China. For the sake of honour and for the sake of friendship:

"Ranma," she said in her best Chinese, "is dead. I have chased her to the ends of the earth and I have killed her."

**

* * *

**

**Author's note: **I'm aware you might think there are some flaws with this last twist, so I'll try and explain my argument.

In the manga, when Shampoo found out about Ranma's curse, she went back to the Amazon tribe without killing Ranma. She was probably confused as to whether she was supposed to marry Ranma or kill him, so she went back to Cologne to work out what she was meant to do. That action did not shame her.

Also in various story arcs, Shampoo returned to China, but _never went back to the Amazons. _I presumed from this that by Amazon law, she could not go back until she had married Ranma.

As for any perceived OOC-ness, I'm sorry, but this is fan fiction. I can't keep everyone completely in-character. I'm aiming for character development in this fic, unlike in the manga where the characters remained very close to static throughout the entire story.

Eh… but I've probably still made mistakes despite my efforts. You can tell me all about it. Derp.


	10. I am a lady!

Chapter No. 10  
**"I am a lady!"**

_Back in Nerima…_

After school that day, Akane raced home to tell Kasumi what had happened to her.

"Kasumi, guess what! I got the part to play Juliet in the school play! And if we do well, I could win a trip to China!"

"China?" Kasumi repeated with one of her soft smiles. "That means we could find a cure for Ranma and his father's curse. And I know how much the part of Juliet means to you."

Akane nodded and smiled.

"What's this about China?" Ranma said suddenly as he poked his head in through the door.

"After the school play," replied Akane. "You'll have to get a part first, though."

Ranma stopped and seriously considered the possibility. A cure for his curse – now wouldn't that be something!

"Maybe you could be Romeo," Kasumi giggled.

"Not a chance," said Akane.

"I'll do it!"

"The world's against me," Akane groaned.

**

* * *

**

There were, as Ranma and Akane discovered the next day, two other males vying for Romeo's part: Tatewaki Kuno and Hikaru Gosunkugi. Kuno, leader of the Kendo club, was a nuisance both Ranma and Akane were thoroughly aware of. As for Gosunkugi, nobody noticed him anyway, so it wasn't like anyone cared about him. The teachers suspected Gosunkugi was into voodooism because he kept sticking pins into wooden manikins during math class. Gosunkugi had bags beneath his eyes which no amount of sleep could get rid of and he failed at life even worse than Ryoga and Mousse did. This was who Ranma was up against.

"I'll get to play Romeo no sweat!" Ranma declared confidently as he and Akane walked to the school's auditorium. "I'll just beat them up on stage and then…" He cackled somewhat evilly. "Romeo is mine!"

Akane wasn't sure whether Ranma even knew who Romeo was. He probably didn't, judging by his attitude. Not that Akane cared overmuch about that. She just wanted to be Juliet. Her desire stemmed from childhood, when her old school performed Romeo and Juliet and she had played Romeo. And she had been a good boy, everyone said. Dr Tofu included.

"_Akane, you need to be shed of your burden." _Ryoga's words came back to her all of a sudden and she smiled. Now that she thought about it, Ryoga had never thought of her as a tomboy. Now, Akane decided she was going to prove that to the world. Being Juliet would affirm her confidence in her newly-discovered femininity.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Ranma asked her, driving her out of her reverie.

"Oh, just the past," she responded lightly.

Ranma had never seen Akane so at ease before. And, although he was loath to admit it to himself, she really did appear stunning in her costume: the long Elizabethan gown, complete with lacy frills and velvet trimmings. She had a wig with long plaited hair. It many ways, she appeared a princess and it was easy to see why Romeo had fallen in love with her.

"Hey, Ranma, if you want to be Romeo, do your best." She smiled. "It would be great if you could break your curse."

He gulped and nodded. There was no point lying to himself. Akane was cute, especially when she smiled.

"And you know," she was saying. "I'd like to go to China myself. Do you think if we win, we might bump into Ryoga and Shampoo? I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, though."

Ranma's tentative smile faded. Perhaps, under different circumstances, something could have blossomed between him and Akane, something quite beautiful that he couldn't quite define. However… it was apparent that Ryoga never seemed to stray far from Akane's thoughts, no matter how lost he got. Stupid pig didn't realise it and neither, probably, did Akane, but…

"We're here!" Akane announced cheerfully, and after that moment, Ranma didn't have time to think. He ventured into the now.

It was a full house that night. If Ranma wasn't so concerned with getting Romeo's part, he might have gotten stage fright, but then again, that wasn't in his nature.

Before he could quite register what was happening, the staging and lighting had been set up, Juliet A.K.A. Akane was standing in front of the audience and the play had begun.

"Once," the narrator intoned, "there lived a beautiful girl named Juliet."

At that point Kuno made his dramatic entrance from the ceiling.

"Akane, marry me!" demanded the amorous upperclassman.

"Follow the script, idiot!" the narrator hissed.

Ranma thought it was about time for him to make his stage debut.

"No, Juliet, marry me!" At least he had the sense to use her stage name. He jumped into the fray and pushed Kuno out of the way. Now he was left staring into the audience with Akane by his side.

The narrator flashed him a glare but quickly adapted to the actors' improvisation. "Juliet," he continued, "was pursued by many handsome and noble men, but there was only one man she loved."

"Oh, Romeo!" Akane cried out emphatically as she batted her eyelids at the nearest male, who happened to be Ranma.

"Oh, Juliet!" returned Ranma.

("What do I say next?" he stage-whispered.)

"Idiot," she hissed scornfully. "It's so you to not have bothered memorising the script."

The audience members, the two realised soon enough, were murmuring among themselves.

"Are you sure they're lovers?"

"They don't really look like it."

Akane was starting to think her one night of femininity was about to be ruined.

Hikaru Gosunkugi slowly walked towards Akane with many deliberate detours. He lacked any kind of stage presence, but that still didn't stop him calling out stutteringly to Akane.

"I-I know the words off by heart."

"Gosunkugi?" Akane looked up curiously.

The bumbling Romeo-wannabe blushed and thrust his face into his hands. Sad boy must have been marvelling at the fact that Akane had actually noticed his existence.

Unfortunately for Gosunkugi, the audience ruined the moment. Some unidentified person exclaimed, "Whatever! Just skip to the kiss scene already!"

Apparently, the kiss scene was the only worthwhile segment of the Shakespeare play. And here Akane had been thinking there actually wasn't a kiss scene at all: there were only dramatic dialogues and suicide attempts. She was wrong, accordingly.

The other audience members seemed to be warming to the kiss scene suggestion.

"Yeah, let's see Ranma and Akane kiss!"

"That's the only reason we spent our money to watch this anyway!"

Ranma and Akane both went red. "No way!" they insisted hotly in unison.

Ranma glanced at Akane. And all of a sudden, he found himself wondering what Akane's lips were like – softening against his.

He shook his head and repeated one specific command over to himself until it became a nonsensical litany of words.

SNAP OUT OF IT. SNAP OUT OF IT. SNAP OUT –

– Akane's lips, so soft –

– OF IT.

Ranma sighed.

Akane was just angry.

"I can't believe this!" she fumed. "A kiss scene doesn't make a great play!"

"Um," the narrator interrupted her. "They were just saying that if you and Ranma kiss, you automatically win the prize."

Ranma and Akane blinked and stared at each other. Did this mean they were going to have to do it?

**

* * *

**

Over in China…

Ryoga should have felt fairly welcome among the Amazons. He didn't because Cologne said she would only teach him a special move – the Bakusai Tenketsu, the Breaking Point – only if he proved to her that as a martial artist, he was worthy enough to learn it. Mousse had wanted to fight him so enough was said. If he was going to become stronger, he was going to have to prove his tenacity by defeating Mousse. Shampoo had warned him that Mousse was the master of hidden weapons, so besting the near-sighted Amazon was actually going to be harder than it seemed.

If Ryoga remember what – and who – he was fighting for, then it all became much easier to bear. He was doing it all for Akane!

Almost angrily, he hoped she was happy.

**

* * *

**

Akane was not happy.

"Who do these perverts think they are, anyway?" she grumbled.

There is no need to explain who she was referring to. After all, stage actors are always told to face their audience.

Ranma looked down at his feet, unable to trust himself to look at Akane. He had a sinking suspicion that she was acting flustered not because she secretly wanted to kiss him but because there was no secret: she honestly didn't want to. Gosh, his ego smarted.

A girl like Akane, he though furiously, placed way too much importance on the act of kissing. It wasn't like you could get pregnant doing it. Sure, it could be disgusting if you used the tongue, but who had said anything about tongue kissing? A chaste peck on the lips would be more than enough to satisfy everyone.

He was about to say as much before the thought occurred to him that if he did, it would sound as if he was desperate to kiss Akane. And he was _not _desperate to kiss Akane. Maybe if he told he was just going to do it for China's sake… a little white lie never hurt anybody.

He continued to stare irresolutely at the floor. It was made of wood.

"Akane Tendo! You need not do the dishonour of kissing Ranma. Allow me to take your divine lips!"

Looked like Kuno was not going down without a fight. Much as he disliked the idea of kissing Akane himself, Ranma disliked Kuno kissing her even more. He looked up.

Akane alleviated the upperclassman with her foot. "No, thanks!" she said distastefully.

Then she kicked Kuno far and away. That was Kuno down.

Ranma sensed someone approaching him from behind. Turning around, he saw that his apprehender was Gosunkugi. Gosunkugi was brandishing a play sword and he had a surprisingly venomous look on his face. Ranma regarded him with half-closed eyes.

"What are you doing, Gosunkugi?"

"Die, Saotome!"

Gosunkugi swung the sword, missed Ranma completely, slipped, lost his balance and landed flat on his posterior.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "I tell you, Gosunkugi. The way of the martial artist is not for you."

Then he picked up Gosunkugi and threw him off the stage. That was Gosunkugi down.

The narrator narrated, "And finally, Romeo and Juliet lean in for the kiss…"

"WE'RE NOT KISSING!"

"Fine," the narrator huffed. "Have it your way. But it means you're not going to see China, you know."

"Stupid manipulative narrators," Ranma grumbled. "They twist a story any way they like it." He said this as he turned to face Akane.

She blinked, gazed at him, and then turned away. "Ranma, I'm not going to kiss you. I'm sorry."

He felt a stab in his heart and involuntarily, he clutched his chest.

"It's Ryoga, isn't it?" he said finally.

"W-What?" Her eyes went wide and her voice became so soft that only Ranma and the narrator could hear her.

They had well and truly forgotten the play.

"I know," said Ranma, "because you always seem to be thinking of him. Maybe you don't realise but… you love him, right?"

"Love him…" Akane repeated slowly and quietly. "I guess you could say that, but… I don't know… I just don't know…"

There was only pain in Ranma's eyes; not anger, not sadness, just pain.

"All I know is," Akane sniffed, "I just don't want to kiss you."

Then…

"I miss Ryoga."

And with that, Akane burst into tears. It was the most convincing display of anguished love the playhouse has ever seen. Because it was real, oh so real.

Akane had set out that night to show off her femininity. And now, she had fallen into the greatest trap known to female kind. It was love.


	11. Someday, somehow

**Author's note: **This is the final chapter. Please see my profile for more information about this. A crappy ending is better than no ending at all.

Chapter No. 11  
**"Someday, somehow"**

On hindsight, it was all Ranma's fault. Everything is Ranma's fault. If I happen to trip over my own feet and stub my toe, it is Ranma's fault. That is one of the divine truths.

"_Why didn't you tell us Akane didn't love you?" _Soun demanded using his frightening balloon-face technique. For once, Genma was in his human form and even he was glaring at Ranma. This was probably to take attention off his own blatant shortcomings as a father.

"It's not my fault Akane won't come out of her room," Ranma grumbled. As if he didn't feel bad enough. "Pining over the stupid pig."

"Go talk to her," Genma commanded. "You're her fiancé."

Ranma shook his head. "Not any more. The engagement is off. You can't force her to marry me if she loves someone else and you can't force me to marry her either."

Soun continued to glare at him. Then he spoke. He sounded much too calm. "How long did you know about this?"

"About what?"

"That my daughter loves Ryoga, of course." Soun sighed and at that moment, he seemed so much older than usual.

Ranma couldn't help but be moved by Soun being uncharacteristically subdued. "It's not the end of the world, ya know," Ranma said in an attempted comforting tone. "Ryoga's a martial artist too. I'm sure he'd make a good heir to the dojo if... that's what you're worried about."

"The agreement still holds, Saotome," Soun said to Genma, thus choosing to completely ignore Ranma.

"Indeed it does." Genma nodded solemnly.

Ranma was at a loss for words. "What, you're not...!"

How insensitive were these parents? It would hurt Akane to be with someone she didn't love and it would hurt Ranma even more because he actually kind of, sort of liked her. Right now, all Ranma wanted to do was forget about all of this engagement business.

"Ranma," said Genma suddenly. "We're pairing you with Nabiki."

"Or with Kasumi. You have a choice," Soun interjected.

"W-Wait. _What?_" Ranma half-shouted. Not what he expected to hear.

At that precise moment, Nabiki was passing through the room, carrying her expensive crocodile handbag. "I'm off!" she announced. She was probably going shopping.

"Wait," Soun told her. "Take Ranma with you. Make it a date."

Ranma would normally have protested, and it showed how broken-hearted he was that he said nothing at all.

Nabiki stopped and considered Soun's request. "Okay," she said finally, to which Soun and Genma heaved heavy sighs of relief. "But only if you double my allowance," she added.

"Done," said Soun.

"Have fun, Ranma!" Genma said cheerfully, before proceeding to push his son out of the house and lock the door behind him. For extra measure, he even hired armed guards wearing black suits and matching shades to patrol the outside of the Tendo Dojo, thus ensuring that Ranma went on his date.

Ranma was spectacularly unimpressed.

"Nabiki, I'm not going to buy you anything," he said.

"I know you won't," Nabiki chuckled. "You'd make a lousy husband."

"Gee, thanks," said Ranma indignantly. On one hand, he wasn't too interested in becoming a husband; on the other, it would be nice to know that if he ever _did _become a husband, others would be confident in the knowledge that he was Good At It. Martial arts... Marital arts...what was the difference?

"But you know," Nabiki continued casually. "It's not like you're a total jerk. Too bad about Akane, huh?"

Ranma regarded Nabiki with suspicion because Nabiki was being suspiciously nice.

"I'm still not going to buy you anything," he said.

Nabiki shrugged. "Such is life."

**

* * *

**The curtains opened upon a life-changing showdown between Ryoga and Mousse. The arena at the centre of the Amazon tribe was the place where all major showdowns took place. Rather similar thoughts went through their heads as they faced each other.

_If I win this fight, then I'll be worthy for the girl I love!_

Cologne stood by the side of the arena next to Shampoo. They were the only spectators of the match. Cologne raised her wrinkly hand.

"Fight!" she announced crisply.

And so the final battle began. The two combatants leaped towards each other to initiate the first of blows upon each other.

"This tough for Ryoga," Shampoo commented. Cologne knew what her great-granddaughter was talking about: Mousse was a master of hidden weapons. Being a seasoned martial artist, Cologne knew just from watching Ryoga for only a few seconds that the young man had a fighting style that was very straightforward. This was the sort of style that Mousse could easily take advantage of.

That was precisely what happened.

First, Mousse began to throw knives at Ryoga, which he deflected by throwing his razor sharp bandanas at. Then Mousse threw ticking time bombs, followed quickly by a grand piano.

"How'd you hide that in your robe?" Ryoga demanded as he narrowly dodged the impromptu weapon. The piano landed with a crash and a terrible-sounding chord.

Although wincing at the sound, Mousse smirked. "I have my ways."

And so the battle went on, the odds clearly tilted in Mousse's favour. Ryoga was on the back foot, dodging Mousse's weapons but finding no opening to launch his own attacks.

Shampoo gazed on thoughtfully. This looked bad for Ryoga.

"Well, great-granddaughter?" Cologne said suddenly. "Do you have faith in this friend of yours?"

The question startled Shampoo. Because it meant something to her, didn't it...? She had given up ever being with Ranma for Ryoga's sake. It wasn't possible for her not to have faith in him, she realised.

"Ryoga win!" she answered, a bit louder than she intended. "Ryoga friend!"

And then she looked up at the young martial artist in question. Had he heard her...? Maybe, maybe not. But he was fighting harder than ever now. Whipping out his umbrella, he completely blocked a yo-yo thrown in his general direction. Then he rapidly brought himself out of his cover and launched a heavy punch in Mousse's direction.

It connected. Right in the stomach.

"_Oof!_" Mousse's glasses fell off his nose and he fell to his knees. Without his vision, Mousse was forced to scramble around on the cold hard pavement of the arena in order to fumble around for his glasses.

Ryoga stood over him and pointed the tip of his umbrella directly at Mousse's head.

"I win," he declared.

"Not yet," Mousse hissed.

"Wha-!" But Ryoga couldn't say any more because at that moment, Mousse grabbed onto his legs and dragged him down to his level.

"Even if I can't see," said Mousse, "you're so close I can fight you blind!"

The frustrated bewilderment on Ryoga's face was evident. "N-Ngoooooooh!"

Cologne watched this all take place with shrewd amusement. "Well, now! This is interesting!"

Shampoo knew what Cologne was thinking. The Breaking Point was a skill only useful at close range. If Ryoga couldn't handle himself here against Mousse, there was no way he could use the Breaking Point.

What followed was a rough and intense tumble between Ryoga and Mousse. Countless blows were exchanged. Eventually, one man stood up, his face bruising, but a clear victory grin on his face. The other man was out cold.

The one on the ground was Mousse.

**

* * *

**Months passed.

Eventually, Akane came out of her room and smiled again. Even though her feelings hadn't changed a single iota, she held on to her sweet secret close to heart.

The day when Ryoga came back wasn't a day where Akane got up out of bed and looked up into the early morning horizon and thought, "Today, _maybe_, his training might be done." Instead, it was one of those humid, rainy days where it feels like everything is smothered under a layer of dampness. It was one of those days which make even the most cheerful of people just a little bit annoyed.

After beating up Ranma approximately seventeen times by lunchtime, Akane's frustration still was not totally vented yet. Life in Nerima was a little more complicated these days, what with her father's old master Happosai returning and a Ranma running into a new fiancée he didn't know was his fiancée. Akane didn't care overly much for any of this, except maybe when Happosai was panty raiding again.

When Ryoga came back, it was not with a sudden knock on the door that made Akane's heart leap into her mouth in that good, romantic way. Instead, Akane found him when she was chasing Happosai. She knew him because he was being chased by a dog and he happened to be in his P-chan form.

Akane instantly forgot about Happosai's latest misdemeanour and exclaimed, "Ryoga, is that you?" But the pig simply squealed and tried to hide itself behind a nearby dustbin.

"Is Ryoga," said a voice behind Akane, and the girl turned around and found herself face-to-face with Shampoo. "Ryoga chicken," Shampoo said.

The pig squealed indignantly once more.

Akane should have felt so incredibly happy, but for some reason, the sight of Ryoga and Shampoo drained her somewhat. Still, she leaned down and picked up Ryoga and said, "It's time for a hot bath for you."

"Is goodbye," Shampoo said abruptly.

Akane looked at her. "What? What do you mean?"

Shampoo sniffed. "Shampoo go home, drink tea, train hard."

"O-Oh." Akane blinked.

"Goodbye," Shampoo said again, and with that, she was gone. It was like her, really, not to be overly emotional about something like this. She'd said and done enough for Ryoga already. There wasn't anything more to prove.

Ryoga made a little sniffling nose, as if he wanted to say something, but his pig body couldn't handle speech.

Akane wondered why in all this time, Ryoga hadn't bothered to visit the Spring of the Drowned Man. Maybe he got lost after Shampoo guided him all the way to the spring? That actually sounded kind of feasible and in actuality, that was the truth.

Although of course it didn't matter because Akane didn't mind Ryoga as a perverted pig. P-chan was very cute, after all. It was hard _not _to like him.

Only now, _finally, _did Akane feel her heart warmed by Ryoga's presence.

"I have so much to tell you, you know," she whispered into the pig's ear.

As she clutched Ryoga close, she felt the warmth of his blush against her skin. She could even fancy that she knew what he would have said to her at that moment.

"_I'm home."_ Because Ryoga Hibiki, so often lost and astray, had one constant in his life, and that was what drew him to Akane's side.

_**The end.**_

_... or is it?_

Not only was Ranma unimpressed by Ryoga's return, Soun and Genma shared the sentiment.

"I don't approve," Soun said flatly.

"B-But! Father!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Ryoga shrunk away from the sight of Soun's balloon-head.

Heh, thought Ranma childishly. Now someone else could finally be subjected to the pain.

The saddest part about all of this was that Ryoga had spent _months _honing his martial arts skills and mastering the Breaking Point. So eager he was to finally win Soun's favour that he stood up and declared: "I will show you my strength!"

And he did.

The Tendo Dojo was not left standing.

Soun was even less impressed than he was before.


End file.
